This is Grant Morrison after all. And this is a Morrison story of a Batman who has descended so deep into the inner-workings of the mind that he’s honed what he’s found into a kind of second skin, “a back-up human operating system” as Bruce Wayne explains in flashback in the issue. So it’s totally understandable if your head hurts from reading this comic. Lord knows mine still does.

I’m still trying to decide if “Batman R.I.P.” has been a truly visceral experience of Batman’s crazy headtrip (which would make this Morrison story the stuff of legend) or the grandstanding of a writer so enraptured with his own accolades and Joycian fetishes he’s used the most iconic, psychologically-scarred costumed hero in all of comics as a convenient avenue to explore new ways to frustrate readers in the name of high art. (Which would make it an epic FAIL of “Final Crisis” proportions.)

In any case, “Batman” No. 681 pulls out all the stops with a final throwdown with Simon Hurt, the big bad of the story. And because this is an arc Morrison laid the groundwork for many issues before, it throws in Batman’s son Damian, Robin, the Club of Heroes, the Club of Villains, Jezebel Jet and the Joker.

Given such a grand cast (and, really, does it get any grander?) you’d think/hope this would be an enjoyable read. And for the most part, it is. But Morrison being Morrison, he just has to make matters obtuse because heaven forbid he tell a straightforward comic saga.

OK, at least Morrison has the decency to clarify some things. Like in case you didn’t know for sure from the previous issue, Bruce’s love interest Jezebel was with the bad guys all along. Oh, and by the way, Bruce knew. How? Because he’s the BLEEPdamn Batman, the world’s greatest costumed detective. And he’s always two steps ahead of everything and everyone, even those he lets into his heart.

Such ridiculous forethought makes sense for a guy who would go to such lengths to craft “a back-up human operating system.” But in so doing, Bruce has marinated himself in so many dark pools of the human psyche there really aren’t any left for him to plumb. So Morrison gives us the ultimate deep, black water for Bruce to dive into — death.

“I WANTED to taste the flavor of death,” Bruce recounts, again in flashback in the issue. “I wanted to know that I had finally experienced EVERY eventuality.”

Which makes the conclusion of this story all the more, well, pointless.

I don’t want to spoil anything here, but with a title like “Batman R.I.P.” and future-issue solicitations pointing to Batman’s absence, do you really think this is permanent? Of course not.

But that’s not really the point of “R.I.P.” Morrison wants to turn the entire Batman mythos on its ear. (Starting your run with a daring story called “Batman and Son” sure sets the tone, dunnit?) So the reveal of Hurt’s identity in this issue is shocking if you believe it but hardly clear enough to be sure what to believe.

Again, is this us interpreting events through Batman’s “wasted” state, as Nightwing so notices? Or is this Morrison coughing up a big hairball? Tough call. I even reread a few issues prior to this for some clues or clarity, but Morrison has done his best to make his “Batman” run anything but predictable or conventional.

“Batman R.I.P.” is by far the most unpredictable, unconventional big-name event for a big-name hero I’ve ever read. It shouldn’t be this challenging to enjoy a comic book, much less enjoy such brilliance at work. I’m just not sure if I’m seeing such greatness through Batman’s eyes or Morrison’s.